From Last Time

Light waves are particles

and matter particles are waves!
Electromagnetic radiation (e.g. light)
made up of photon particles
Matter particles show wavelike properties like
interference

Phy107 Fall 2006

Photon: particle and wave

Light: Is quantized. Has energy and momentum:
hc 1240 eV nm
E hf

E hf h
p

c
c

Electromagnetic radiation(light) has a dual nature.

It exhibits both wave and particle characteristics

The photoelectric effect
shows the particle characteristics of light
Interference and diffraction
Phy107 Fall 2006

Wavelengths of massive objects

h
deBroglie wavelength =
p
p=mv for a nonrelativistic
(v<<c) particle with mass.

mv

Same

constant as
h
hc
before

p
2 mc 2 E kinetic
kinetic energy
rest energy
Phy107 Fall 2006

Wavelength of eV electrons
For an electron,

constant

1240 eV nm

2 0.511 MeV

1
1.23 eV 1/ 2 nm

E kinetic
E kinetic

rest energy

1 eV electron,
10 eV electron
100 eV electron

kinetic energy

=1.23 nm
=0.39 nm
=0.12 nm
Phy107 Fall 2006

Wavelength of 100 eV objects

For an electron,

constant

1240 eV nm
1
88 eV 1/ 2 nm

2 m0 MeV 100eV
m0 MeV
rest energy

kinetic energy

100 eV electron, =0.12 nm

100 eV proton
=0.0029 nm = 2.9 pm
Electron .511 MeV, Proton 940 MeV
Phy107 Fall 2006

Wave reflection from crystal

Reflection
from next
plane

Reflection from
top plane

side view

If electron are waves they can interfere

Interference of waves reflecting from different
atomic layers in the crystal.
Difference in path length ~ spacing between atoms
Phy107 Fall 2006

Davisson-Germer
experiment
Diffraction of
electrons from a
nickel single crystal.
Established that
electrons are waves

Bright spot:
constructive
interference

Davisson:
Nobel Prize
1937

54eV
electrons
(=0.17nm)

Phy107 Fall 2006

Particle interference
Used this interference idea to to learn about the structure of matter

100 eV electrons: = 0.12nm

1240 eV nm 1

2 m 0 MeV KE

Crystals also the atom

10 GeV electrons:

Inside the nucleus, 3.2 fermi, 10-6 nm

10 GeV protons:

Inside the protons and neutrons: .29 fermi

Phy107 Fall 2006

Lets study electron waves

Here is a wave:

p
x

where is the electron?

Wave extends infinitely far in +x and -x direction

Phy107 Fall 2006

Analogy with sound

Sound wave also has the same characteristics
But we can often locate sound waves
E.g. echoes bounce from walls. Can make a sound pulse

Example:

Hand clap: duration ~ 0.01 seconds

Speed of sound = 340 m/s
Spatial extent of sound pulse = 3.4 meters.
3.4 meter long hand clap travels past you at 340 m/s

Phy107 Fall 2006

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Beat frequency: spatial localization

What does a sound particle look like?
One example is a beat frequency between two notes
Two sound waves of almost same wavelength added.
Quic kTime
an d
a
TIFF (LZ W)
de c o mp re s s o r
a re
n e ed e d
to
see
th is
p ic tu re .

Qu ic kT
ime
an d
a
TIFF
( LZ W)
d ec o mp re s s o r
a re
ne e de d
to
see
th is
pic tu re.

Constructive
interference

Large
amplitude

Destructive
interference

Small
amplitude
Phy107 Fall 2006

Constructive
interference

Large
amplitude
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Making a particle out of waves

440 Hz +
439 Hz

440 Hz +
439 Hz +
438 Hz

440
439
438
437
436
Phy107 Fall 2006

Hz +
Hz +
Hz +
Hz +
Hz
12

Spatial extent
of localized sound wave
8
4
0
-4
-8

x
-15

-10

-5

0
J

10

15

x = spatial spread of wave packet

Spatial extent decreases as the spread in
included wavelengths increases.
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Same occurs for a matter wave

Construct a localized particle by adding together
waves with slightly different wavelengths.
Since de Broglie says = h /p, each of these
components has slightly different momentum.
We say that there is some uncertainty in the momentum
or the energy

And still dont know exact location of the particle!

Wave still is spread over x (uncertainty in position)
Can reduce x, but at the cost of increasing the spread in
wavelength (giving a spread in momentum).
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Interpreting

8
4
0
-4
-8

-15

-10

-5

0
J

10

15

For sound, we would just say that the sound pulse is

centered at some position, but has a spread.
Cant do that for a quantum-mechanical particle.
Many measurements indicate that the electron is
indeed a point particle.
Interpretation is that the magnitude of electron wavepulse at some point in space determines the
probability of finding the electron at that point.
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Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle

Using
x = position uncertainty
p = momentum uncertainty

Plancks
constant

Heisenberg showed that the product

( x ) ( p ) is always greater than ( h / 4 )
Often write this as

x p ~ h/2

h
where h
is pronounced h-bar
2

Phy107 Fall 2006

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Thinking about uncertainty

x p ~ h/2
For a classical particle, p=mv, so an
uncertainty in momentum corresponds to an
uncertainty in velocity.

x v ~ h/2m
This says that the uncertainty is small for massive objects,
but becomes important for very light objects, such as
electrons.

Large, massive objects dont show effects of quantum

mechanics.
Phy107 Fall 2006

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Uncertainty principle question

Suppose an electron is inside a box 1 nm in width.
There is some uncertainty in the momentum of
the electron. We then squeeze the box to make
it 0.5 nm. What happens to the momentum?
A. Momentum becomes more uncertain
B. Momentum becomes less uncertain
C. Momentum uncertainty unchanged

Phy107 Fall 2006

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Using quantum mechanics

Quantum mechanics makes astonishingly
accurate predictions of the physical world
Can apply to atoms, molecules, solids.
An early success was in understanding
Structure of atoms
Interaction of electromagnetic radiation with atoms

Phy107 Fall 2006

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Planetary model of atom

Positive charge is concentrated in
the center of the atom ( nucleus )

electrons

Atom has zero net charge:

Positive charge in nucleus cancels
negative electron charges.

nucleus

Electrons orbit the nucleus like

planets orbit the sun
(Attractive) Coulomb force plays
role of gravity

Phy107 Fall 2006

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Difference between atoms

No net charge to atom
number of orbiting negative electrons same as
number of positive protons in nucleus
Different elements have different number of
orbiting electrons

Hydrogen: 1 electron
Helium:
2 electrons
Copper: 29 electrons
Uranium: 92 electrons!
Organized into periodic table of elements
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Elements in same
column have similar
chemical properties

Phy107 Fall 2006

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Planetary model and radiation

Circular motion of orbiting electrons
causes them to emit electromagnetic radiation
with frequency equal to orbital frequency.
Same mechanism by which radio waves are emitted
by electrons in a radio transmitting antenna.
In an atom, the emitted electromagnetic wave
carries away energy from the electron.
Electron predicted to continually lose energy.
The electron would eventually spiral into the nucleus
However most atoms are stable!

Phy107 Fall 2006

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Atoms and photons

Experimentally, atoms do emit electromagnetic
radiation, but not just any radiation!
In fact, each atom has its own fingerprint of
different light frequencies that it emits.
400 nm

600 nm

500 nm

700 nm

Hydrogen
Mercury
Wavelength (nm)
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Hydrogen emission spectrum

Hydrogen is simplest atom
One electron orbiting around
one proton.

n=4

n=3

The Balmer Series of

emission lines empirically
given by

1
1
1
R H 2 2
2
m
n

n = 4, = 486.1 nm

n = 3, = 656.3 nm

Hydrogen
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Hydrogen emission
This says hydrogen emits only
photons of a particular wavelength, frequency
Photon energy = hf,
so this means a particular energy.
Conservation of energy:
Energy carried away by photon is lost by the
orbiting electron.

Phy107 Fall 2006

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The Bohr hydrogen atom

Retained planetary picture: one
electron orbits around one proton
Only certain orbits are stable
Radiation emitted only when
electron jumps from one stable
orbit to another.

Einitial

Here, the emitted photon has an

energy of
Einitial-Efinal

Efinal

Photon

Stable orbit #2
Stable orbit #1
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Energy levels
Instead of drawing orbits, we can just indicate the energy
an electron would have if it were in that orbit.

n=4
n=3

E3

13.6
eV
32

n=2

E2

13.6
eV
22

E1

13.6
eV
12

Energy axis

Zero energy

n=1

Energy quantized!
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Emitting and absorbing light

Zero energy

n=4
n=3

13.6
E 3 2 eV
3

n=2

13.6
E 2 2 eV
2

Photon
emitted
hf=E2-E1

n=1

n=4
n=3

E3

13.6
eV
32

n=2

E2

13.6
eV
22

E1

13.6
eV
12

Photon
absorbed
hf=E2-E1
E1

13.6
eV
12

Photon is emitted when electron

drops fromone quantum
state to another
Phy107 Fall 2006

n=1

Absorbing a photon of correct

energy makes
electron jump to
higher quantum state.
29

Photon emission question

An electron can jump between the allowed quantum states
(energy levels) in a hydrogen atom. The lowest three
energy levels of an electron in a hydrogen atom are
-13.6 eV, -3.4 eV, -1.5 eV.
These are part of the sequence En = -13.6/n2 eV.
Which of the following photons could be emitted by the
hydrogen atom?

A. 10.2 eV
B. 3.4 eV
C. 1.7 eV

The energy carried away by the photon must be

given up by the electron. The electron can give
up energy by dropping to a lower energy state.
So possible photon energies correspond to
differences between electron orbital energies.
The 10.2 eV photon is emitted when the electron
jumps from the -3.4 eV state to the -13.6 eV
state, losing 10.2 eV of energy.
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Energy conservation for Bohr atom

Each orbit has a specific energy
En=-13.6/n2
Photon emitted when electron
jumps from high energy to low
energy orbit.
Ei Ef = h f
Photon absorption induces
electron jump from
low to high energy orbit.
Ef Ei = h f
Agrees with experiment!
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Example: the Balmer series

All transitions terminate at
the n=2 level
Each energy level has
energy En=-13.6 / n2 eV
E.g. n=3 to n=2 transition
Emitted photon has energy
E photon

13.6 13.6
2 2 1.89 eV
3 2

Emitted wavelength

E photon

hc
hc
1240 eV nm
hf ,

656 nm

E photon
1.89 eV
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Spectral Question
Compare the wavelength of a photon produced from
a transition from n=3 to n=1 with that of a photon
produced from a transition n=2 to n=1.
A.31 < 21

n=3
n=2

B.31 = 21
C. 31 > 21

E31 > E21

so

31 < 21

n=1
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But why?
Why should only certain orbits be stable?
Bohr had a complicated argument based on
correspondence principle
That quantum mechanics must agree with classical
results when appropriate (high energies, large sizes)

But incorporating wave nature of electron gives

a natural understanding of these
quantized orbits

Phy107 Fall 2006

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